1. Open up the Play Games Window.2. Right Click on Half-Life 2.3. Select Properties.4. Go to dropdown box labeled "Automatic Updates"5. Select "Do Not Automatically Update This Game"6. Click Close.

You can now patch when you want to and not when steam wants you to. Of course you can't play multiplayer unless you update but that has always been the case anyway.

You fanboys make me real sick. But thats your ultimative goal anyway, right? Replace intelligence with stupidity, so you can finally develop an even bigger ego?

Anyway, try to disable the auto update that quickly before the update is done. Good luck.I know you can disable your internet connection first, but thats just another complicated way Steam forces you to go.

And I guess thats why people still played CS 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 etc over WON... because "that has always been the case anyway".

I also suggest you read some threads in the steam forums how Steam first split and then destroyed or heavily damaged other mods communities. Even the bigger ones like TFC.

Oh noes Steam encourages you to be an outlaw! I grieve for those poor impressionable souls led astray by evil Steam instructions.

Seriously... people need to come up with better reasons to dislike Steam (other than, "my pirated copy doesn't work any more boo hoo").

I dont recall any pirated version worked with WON either unless you had a working key. If youre lucky with your keygen, then you probably will also be able to play over Steam. Oh and as such a loyal Steam fanboy you should actually know that CS:S is playable with pirated versions no problem.

RIDICULOUS! Everyone needs the same version to play together, so they encourage you to update! ZOMG! It's so convoluted, my brain feels like its going to explode! Especially considering it all happens automatically... as soon as you log on to Steam you are good to play offline (unless you want to log in and out of Steam multiple times, in which case you must backup one file...). I can understand how it might be too complicated for you, VoodooV.

Clearly if you are offline there is no way Steam will know if you have the newest version, thus, so long as everyone has the same version, LAN play will work. It just makes sense to have the newest version... but if you don't want to...

Of course they do, because its Steam and its forcing you to get the newest version, broken or not. All these extra things you need to do (backup, disconnect first to not get any updates, start Steam, close Steam, wait 30 secs to get onto a server, etc etc) add up, but I am pretty sure youre too smart to bother how something like "adding up" works.See my first comment above for the rest of your pathetic try. Btw, your ignorance really stinks.

No patch is ever forced upon you with steam aside from the updates to the steam software itself. Each and every game you have running through steam can be set up at the time of installation or altered at any moment in time to NOT autoupdate. You want the freedom to decide when to patch? Feel free to use it, it's right there and even in nice user-friendly menus if you bother to take five or ten seconds to look. (hint: It's in the properties for whatever game you're looking to change the settings for)

It isnt? YOU CANT FUCKING PLAY ONLINE WITHOUT THE NEWEST PATCH! MY GOD!!!And wtf is the point of your loved auto updating if you have all your games set to manual anyway???

If Steam ever issues a "bad" patch it can be rolled back for everyone instantaneously.... via Steam.

You trust Valve to react that quickly? Even though you know very well what kind of shit they did in the past and how long it took them to fix it? Are you a newbie? That would explain a lot. But I guess its just that f word... no, I mean fanboy.

Steam is the interface for HL2 (and, incidentally, some other games). If you don't like the interface enough not to buy the game, then ummm... don't buy it I guess.

Ok I wont buy HL1. No... wait...

I personally thought the interface for HL1 was pretty craptacular (glad it got replaced) but that didn't stop me from buying it.

I never used it except in the very beginning. Thats what FREE gamebrowsers are for.

I guess I just don't understand one thing... what is so different about Steam? Just disable autoupdates and don't use the handful of other features it provides... it's just an interface.

What so different about it? If I start Steam it uses 20 MB of RAM, if I play for a few it goes to 30MB. And I only have HL1 and CS installed.

If I start the game browser of my choice I have 5 MB used and can also find game servers of all my other multiplayer games with it. and also have a buddy tracker which works across other developers games aswell.

If I start Steam I have to wait for it to log on, I have to wait for the game to start, then I have to choose the server from the slow updating steam server browser, then I have to wait 20-40 secs until the game and security module is loaded and I am ready to play.

One last question: Do you guys think you will get a job at Valve when you defend them that hard? Sorry, but it wont get into my head how people can be so ignorant?!